Amazona.de on the VTC: Tubes for Connoisseurs

• 20.03.2023
• Michael Krusch
• VTC
• Review

What Amazona.de Writes About the Vari Tube Compressor

Jörg Hoffmann reviewed the current version of the VTC with the new Color/Comp switch for Amazona.de – as a vari-mu compressor that, in his assessment, is not a neutral tool but a "real character actor":

"In the Tegeler Vari Tube compressor, however, the signal passes not only through tubes, which mainly add harmonic distortion, but also through a series of transformers that convert the signal from current into a magnetic field and back again, adding further non-linearities." – Jörg Hoffmann, Amazona.de, March 2023 (translated)

"An example: the sound of a grand piano enriched with the character of the Vari Tube fills the room as a whole and gives it very strong presence. A rock ballad with power chords à la Meat Loaf (R.I.P.) immediately sounds far more bombastic with it." – Jörg Hoffmann, Amazona.de, March 2023 (translated)

"All in all, the Tegeler is a unit for connoisseurs and enthusiasts: strong in character and never inconspicuous. A special taste, but if you like this sound: a great compressor." – Jörg Hoffmann, Amazona.de, March 2023 (translated)

The review names the bus as the ideal place for it – strings, percussion or drums as a group – and praises the build quality, detented controls and the operation reduced to the essentials. A ratio control, side-chain input and recall are deliberately absent on the VTC; that is the division of labor with the Schwerkraftmaschine, which combines the same tube signal path with a digitally generated control signal and plug-in recall.

What the Vari Tube Compressor Is

The Vari Tube Compressor (VTC) is our vari-mu tube compressor for mastering, the mix bus and subgroups – a complete tube signal path built on the same principle as the Fairchild 670. Per channel the signal passes through three transformers and four triodes: the tubes add harmonics the ear finds pleasant, and the transformers deliver a gentle saturation before the signal even reaches the compression. Compression sets in very softly and only grabs harder as the input level rises; a low-cut in the side chain keeps low frequencies out of the control circuit, so a mix bus can be densified by up to 6 dB of gain reduction without audible pumping. All controls have 42 detents, and the two channels run linked as a stereo pair or – link switch off – independently as two mono channels. The Color/Comp switch, which Amazona.de names as the only real novelty, takes the compression out entirely and lets only the tubes and transformers work on the signal – more in "New VTC: Color/Comp Switch for Pure Tube Color".

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Related: New VTC: Color/Comp Switch for Pure Tube Color · Tubes of Glue: Everything Recording on the VTC · Schwerkraftmaschine vs. VTC: VTC Mode Explained